The design of a prairie barn, also known as the Western barn, reflects the iconic image of an American
barn
A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G. ...
. The peak roof over the hay loft is what helps give the prairie barn its familiarity across the landscape. It was popularized during the settlement of the American West during the 19th century.
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Design
Large herds of cattle, associated mostly with the American West
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
, required vast amounts of space for hay and feed. Prairie barns are generally larger than other types of barns. The long, sweeping style roofs, sometimes reaching very near the ground, are trademark of prairie barns. The large roof areas provided for more storage space. Later in the 19th century barn architects adopted gambrel
A gambrel or gambrel roof is a usually symmetrical two-sided roof with two slopes on each side. (The usual architectural term in eighteenth-century England and North America was "Dutch roof".) The upper slope is positioned at a shallow angle, w ...
roofs, which provided even more storage space. Prairie barns share a number of features with the historic Dutch barn
Dutch barn is the name given to markedly different types of barns in the United States and Canada, and in the United Kingdom. In the United States, Dutch barns (a. k. a. New World Dutch barns) represent the oldest and rarest types of barns. There ...
design. Long, low roof lines, gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
end doors and the internal dispersal of stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
stalls in aisles astride a central hallway are all elements of Dutch barns.[Auer, Michael J]
The Preservation of Historic Barns
Preservation Briefs, National Park Service, first published October 1989. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
References
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Barns in the United States
American architectural styles